Phang Thien Ban

Phang Thien Ban (born 1938) is a former commander of the Viet Cong.

Biography
Phang Thien Ban was born in Quang Tri Province in French Indochina in 1938, and he fought for Vietnamese independence under Ho Chi Minh since the age of 12. In the 1960s, he became the leader of Viet Cong guerrillas in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Phang Thien Ban and his band of guerrillas captured Hill 3366 from the United States and held it against a vicious attack by American marines under Sergeant Kyle Radiack, killing all 20 of the American attackers. However, only 6 of 20 Viet Cong troops survived the battle.

After the Vietnam War, Phang Thien Ban was rewarded with a sum of money, and he raised a poppy plantation in the jungles of Quang Tri. Briefly a politician, he retired in 2005.